Legends of Samarkand: 11 stories and where to hear them

The legend. Kusam ibn Abbas came to Samarkand to preach. When enemies attacked during Friday prayers, he did not die: he walked into a deep well beneath the hill, or was led into passages under it by Khizr, the wandering immortal of Islamic tradition. He is still there, alive. That is why the place is called Shah-i-Zinda, “the Living King”.

What is known. Kusam was a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. He joined the Arab campaign beyond the Amu Darya in 676 and died in Samarkand around 677. By the 11th century a mausoleum stood over the grave believed to be his, and Timur’s family later built a whole street of tombs around it. Tradition adds a smaller legend: count the steps of the staircase going up and coming down, and if the numbers match, your sins are forgiven.

Where to see it. The shrine of Kusam is at the top of the lane, behind a carved wooden screen. It is a working place of prayer, so walk quietly. More in our Shah-i-Zinda guide.

The legend. While Timur was away at war, his wife built him a mosque as a surprise. The young architect fell in love with her and slowed the work, then named his price for finishing on time: one kiss. She sent him painted eggs: different colours, she said, but they all taste the same, and so do women. He answered with two cups, one of water and one of wine. They look alike, he said, but only one sets you on fire. She agreed to the kiss, and it left a mark on her cheek that Timur noticed the moment he came home. How the story ends depends on who tells it.

What is known. The mosque was Timur’s own project, begun in 1399 after his Indian campaign. Saray Mulk Khanum, the wife known as Bibi-Khanym, built her own madrasah across the road.

Where to see it. Stand under the 35-metre portal, then cross the road to the small mausoleum that survives from her madrasah. More in our Bibi-Khanym guide.

The belief. In the courtyard of the same mosque lies a giant Quran stand carved from marble. Samarkand says that a woman who crawls under it will have many children, and for generations women did.

What is known. The stand was commissioned by Ulugh Beg, Timur’s grandson, and is about 2.3 metres long. It first stood in the main sanctuary, under the dome, and was later moved outside. It was made for a Quran of giant format, with pages close to two metres tall.

Where to see it. In the middle of the courtyard. It is nearly six hundred years old and fragile, so today the custom is to look and photograph, not to climb.

The legend. In 1740 the Persian ruler Nader Shah carried off the dark green stone that lay over Timur’s grave. On the road it cracked in two. His advisers saw a bad omen and urged him to send it back, and so the stone returned to Samarkand.

What is known. The stone is nephrite, a kind of jade, brought to Samarkand by Ulugh Beg in 1425. It really did leave with Nader Shah, and it really is in two pieces. Its long inscription traces Timur’s family line back many generations.

Where to see it. Inside Gur-e-Amir, in the centre, behind the marble screen: the dark stone among pale ones. Look for the crack. More in our Gur-e-Amir guide.

The legend. When Samarkand was built, a leopard came down from the mountains, walked around the new walls as if inspecting them and went back to the hills. The people took it as a blessing and put the big cat on their banners.

What is known. The best-known cats in the city are over the arch of the Sher-Dor madrasah, finished in 1636. Striped, but with lions’ manes, they chase white deer, with a sun with a human face rising from their backs. The name means “having lions” or “having tigers”, and Samarkand still argues about which. The motif is far older than the building, and the lion with the sun was on the back of the 200-som note of 1997.

Where to see it. On the Registan, the madrasah on your right as you face the square. More in our Registan guide.

The legend. When his madrasah was nearly finished, Ulugh Beg was asked who would be its first teacher. The person who knows most in every science, he said. A plain-looking man stepped out of the crowd and offered himself. Ninety scholars came to his opening lecture. By the end, only two could follow him: the astronomer Qadi Zada and Ulugh Beg himself.

What is known. The madrasah opened in the 1420s, and under Ulugh Beg its main subject was astronomy. He interviewed its teachers himself, and Qadi Zada was among them.

Where to see it. The oldest of the three madrasahs on the Registan, on the left as you face the square.

The legend. After Ulugh Beg’s death his library, said to have held 15,000 books, was in danger. His student Ali Qushji carried most of the books out of the city to the village of Hazrat Bashir and hid them. People still wonder where.

What is known. Ulugh Beg’s observatory, built in the 1420s, produced a catalogue of 1,018 stars and measured the length of the year with remarkable precision. Ali Qushji later took that knowledge west, to Istanbul.

Where to see it. At the observatory on Kuhak hill, where the arc of the giant sextant is cut into the rock. More in our Ulugh Beg Observatory guide.

The legend. Timur heard that whichever land holds the remains of the prophet Daniel will never lack blessings, so on campaign he brought relics of Daniel back to Samarkand. Once they were buried, the grave began to lengthen by itself. A spring nearby is said to have appeared under a horse’s hoof, and pilgrims drink from it for health.

What is known. The mausoleum of Khoja Doniyor stands on the east side of Afrasiyab, the hill of ancient Samarkand, above the Siab stream. Its five domes cover a grave about 18 metres long. Muslims, Christians and Jews all come here; some scholars think Khoja Doniyor was a companion of Kusam ibn Abbas. A dried pistachio tree beside the crypt, the city says, came back to life after Patriarch Alexy II blessed the site in 1996.

Where to see it. On the far side of Afrasiyab, a short taxi ride from the observatory. Dress modestly and walk down to the spring.

The legend. Chinese prisoners, brought to Samarkand after the Battle of Talas in 751, taught the city the secret of paper. Within a generation Samarkand paper was famous across the Islamic world.

What is known. The story was written down in the 11th century. Historians are more cautious: paper was known in Samarkand decades before 751, and the craft most likely arrived gradually along the trade routes. The fame, though, is history.

Where to see it. At the Meros workshop in Konigil, outside the city, where paper is again made from mulberry bark by hand. More in our Samarkand paper guide.

The legend. A khan of Bukhara loved Samarkand bread so much that he brought the city’s best baker to his court, with his oven, his flour and his water. The bread still came out different. One ingredient, the baker explained, could not be moved: the air of Samarkand.

What is known. Samarkand non is baked on the walls of a clay tandir oven and is thinner in the centre than at the rim. It keeps for a long time and is easily revived, which is why travellers carry it home.

Where to see it. At Siab Bazaar, next to Bibi-Khanym, best in the morning. More in our guide to the bazaars of Uzbekistan.